storme

Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut. In the imp: not much at all. Faint powdery honey? On me, wet: powdery honey and spicy musk, but it's still really faint on me. On me, dry: BO and baby powder. Snake Oil did this too, so I'm not actually surprised, just faintly sad. Verdict: This sniffie can get passed on to someone with nicer skin chemistry, I think.

In the imp: hrmm. Grape juice - sweet and almost pineapple-ish - and a sort of yoghurty smell. On me, wet: very sweet but much fainter - like a powdery milkshake made very weakly. On me, dry: pina colada. Very milky and without alcohol, but still, sticky sweet pinapple-coconut-tropicalness. Verdict: Too sticky-sugary-sweet for my nose. Ah well.

In the imp: rose and violet and mint. On me, wet: violet and mint and some other light florals. It's very light and cold-feeling. On me, dry: The violet isn't quite going mad on me, but it's lurking on the edge of powderiness. The rest of the florals and the mint are very cold and airy-feeling. Verdict: Rather pretty, but the violet makes me uneasy (like it could explode at any moment!) so I'll probably just pass the imp on.

In the imp: hmm! Mint and rose and a sort of red-musky note. I like! On me, wet: yup, mint and musk and a trace of rose. On me, dry: peppermint and musk! It has a boozey herbal tinge to it, also, I think, and up close a really strong note of ... something that remnds me of an empty bottle of mineral water. Weird. Verdict: Well, the SO *likes* it, but he's pretty affectionate anyway - I can't tell if this is boosting that or not. I guess I'll hang onto the imp for now.

In the imp: Sort of soapy-girly florals, though not actually soapy *yet*. On me, wet: again, slightly soapy rose and sweet spring flowers - there's some greenness here that cuts through the soapy note. It's rather nice. On me, dry: a faint green sappiness, but the rest of the scent appears to have vanished. Hunh. Verdict: I wasn't sold on this before it vanished, but that'ss the clincher - swap pile.

In the imp: leather and white musk, like very clean leather. On me, wet: hmm, lots of leather, a little musk, and a very slight trace of lilac. C'mon, skin, amp the lilacs for me! On me, dry: leather. Not much musk any more, practically no lilac. Wah. Verdict: I really wanted something with a bit more lilac kick to it; I guess this won't be replacing Whitechapel for me any time soon.

In the imp: very manly - lots of pine and cedar and aftershavey woodsiness. On me, wet: pine, but a rich dark wet pine, not a pine-sol pine. Very aftershave-ish, still. On me, dry: yup, a rich, dark, wet pine, and the trace of smoke has emerged. Hunh. Nicer than I was expecting. Verdict: I like it - I don't think I have much use for it, but hey, since all I have is a tiny trace in an empty bottle, I don't mind keeping it around to sniff as I feel the need.

In the imp: hmm. A very sweet and slightly soapy rose. On me, wet: Very sweet and slightly soapy rose - are there violets in this too? On me, dry: Oh man, this is, as other reviewers have said, very like Numb. Lots of soapiness here. Verdict: Oh, I think this can happily leave my imp box at some point soon.

Dewy grass, summer breezes, and dandelion clocks. In the imp: oh, hunh. That is indeed a damp-grass-and-dandelions-and florals scent. On me, wet: Ah, the smell of lying about in a park on a summer's day. A bit perfumey, those florals, though. On me, dry: grass and dandelions and slightly sickly florals and, somewhere in the background, a fair hint of asphalt. Verdict: Interesting. I actually have a bottle pending, but I guess I probably will trade it away since I can't see myself doing more than occasionally sniffing at the imp.

In the imp: astringent herbs and patchouli. On me, wet: well, that's, uh. Powder and mildew and general skankiness. Man, that's not nice. On me, dry: oh, there's something cedar-ish in here. Amid the nasty general ick and yuck. Verdict: I guess there's civet in here, huh. That and the patchouli together is Not Good. Shudder.

In the imp: oooh. Light, peachy, girly. On me, wet: light and peachy and weirdly chemical. Something in this does not like my skin chemistry. On me, dry: very sweet light peaches and a floral I assume is heliotrope, since it's not bergamot. Kind of sugary. Verdict: I think it's a little too sweet for my taste, but whatever was the skin chemistry problem, it went away. Still, swaps.

In the imp: neroli and patchouli and dry wood, very sharp and dusty. On me, wet: neroli, lots and lots of neroli, and a very faint rose tinge. Vaguely sweet. On me, dry: patchouli and dry wood and neroli, like a fire in a hippy shop. Sort of soapy, also. Verdict: Well, at least the apple didn't show up. Swap pile, I think.

The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood. In the imp: very dark bitter chocolate-and-coffee, rich but almost burnt-smelling. On me, wet: very dark bitter chocolate, rich and cloying and dreadfully unhealthy. On me, dry: oh, ugh, there's the wine. Sigh. I can still faintly smell that rich chocolate, but I cannot abide that red wine stale-booze smell, alas. Verdict: swap pile, but man, I am surprised I don't hear more people rave about the initial scent of this.

In the imp: sweet lavender, and maybe a hint of eucalyptus. On me, wet: lavender and mint and a vaguely anise-y feel to it all. My sinuses feel nice and clear now. On me, dry: lavender and mint and... fennel, I think, not anise. Meh. I'm not fond of that licorice-ish subcategory of notes. Verdict: As a scent, nope, not loving it. And I don't think I need it for nightmares, so swap pile time.

In the imp: vanilla and berries, like a jam-filled sponge. On me, wet: still that jam-and-sponge feeling to this, but a sweet moist light sponge. Quite tempting, and I'm normally not one for cakey smells. On me, dry: yup, still that jam-and-sponge cake, like the sort of birthday cake people would have when I was little. It's a little less just-baked now, though. Verdict: Hunh, I like this. A BPAL cake smell that I like? Madness! Keeping my imp for now.

In the bottle: mint humbugs, sweetness with a crunchy edge to it. On me, wet: mint humbugs, very sweet toffee-ish vanilla and peppermint. Very tasty, if sticky. On me, dry: mint humbugs, still. It's a very bright white powdery sort of mint, and a very toffee-ish vanilla. Verdict: I like this. I don't *think* I need a full bottle, though, since I prefer my mints less sugary. Hmm. I'll hang onto my bottle for now. Edit: other people get *chocolate* in this? Weird.

In the imp: oooh, opium-ish sandalwood with a citric bite behind it. Spicy-feeling. On me, wet: powdery sandalwood with a warm vanilla behind it and only a hint of citrus. On me, dry: hmm, this is a big weird messy non-worker. Smells like there's jasmine lurking in here, but mostly it's opium soap. Verdict: Alas, apparently not one I can wear.

In the imp: hmm, this smells slightly like wisteria to me. But very very very faint. On me, wet: faint wisteria - actually, it might be plumeria, I guess. Very light, barely there. On me, dry: Still very faint, very pale scent - white flowers barely bloomed. Verdict: Enh. Baby wipes leave a stronger (though similar, now I come to think of it) scent on my skin than this does. Pass.

In the imp: light, airy musk-and-citrus-and-lavender. Yum! On me, wet: lots of lavender and a sort of old-spice-ish musk, very masculine but a bit too like a traditional aftershave for my tastes. On me, dry: This totally stays a traditional middle-aged-male cologne - something my father would wear. This smells like Smut did on me, actually. Verdict: I might try it on the SO first, but I don't think it's a keeper. Bah, and those notes all should work great on me.

In the imp: cherries like whoa. Overwhelming sweet cherry. On me, wet: the woods immediately bloom on my skin, warming and deepening the scent. On me, dry: faint cherry and lots and lots of dry woods. Warm but sort of dusty-feeling. Verdict: This is almost masculine on me, and not in a way I like, so I'll pass.

In the imp: hmm, a sweet-sharp alcoholish scent mingled with dirt. On me, wet: sweet, perfume-soaked earth. Man, it smells like clay soaked with perfume. On me, dry: yup, perfume-soaked earth. Reminds me a lot of Zombi, really. Verdict: Enh, I didn't end up keeping Zombi around, so I doubt I'd use this. Swap.

In the imp: roses and ALL THE HONEYSUCKLE EVER. On me, wet: roses and light honeysuckle. Slightly powdery now. On me, dry: faint roses, honeeysuckle, and a spicy powder that's sort of play-doh-ish. Verdict: Meh. Swap pile.

In the imp: sugar! pink pink sweetness! On me, wet: sugary vanilla, and indistinguishable swampy sticky sweet pink florals. Man, I hope this calms down a little. On me, dry: oh, thank god, the maple-vanilla-sugar rush has passed, and the carnation is edging forward with that creamy spiciness I like. And I can smell another, lighter floral too now - the phlox, I guess? Later: hello? where's everything go? There's only the lightest waft of sugary carnation on my wrist now. Verdict: I think the opening barrage of syrup is too strong for me, despite my fondness for carnations. I'll stick with Maiden instead.

In the imp: oh, wow, that hits the 'yay' part of my brain straight off - lots of musk and sandalwood with some vanilla and florals. On me, wet: mm, this is very faint, but still lovely soft warm musk and sandalwood and gentle damp florals and green aloe. On me, dry: mm, there's a lineny scent - papyrus, maybe? - giving the soft sweet musk and sandalwood and florals a feeling of coolness. Verdict: this is gorgeous, but it fades really fast. One to retest or use in a scent locket, I guess.

White ginger, artemesia, vetiver, nutmeg, King mandarin, bergamot, and lime. In the imp: citrus! damp sharp citrus and nutmeg. On me, wet: faint aquatic citrus with an edge of spiciness. On me, dry: Mrm, watery citrus with a warm gingery peppery kick to it. And some soapy herbs, too. Verdict: This doesn't quite work on my skin, alas - citrus and pepper and soap together don't make my nose happy.